Birthday Bash
by LoveLiberty
Summary: Sequel to Adventure to Lynfea! Can Brandon and Stella overcome their struggles? It's a trip to Mercuris as we meet Cora's parents and set up an amazing b-day party! But will an unexpected force return to trash it all? And what's the deal with Layla?
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! I'm back with more Winx Club fanfic! We are new with Birthday Bash, its time to celebrate!

Enjoy!

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Alfea was always buzzing with energy when students return from Spring break. Students cheerfully reunite and teachers prepare for a new semester. The plaza was filled with returning students and even some new ones. Some students decide to return home for break, others stay at the school. The Winx Club, for example, spent the majority of break in their own dorm in the teachers wing.

"Stella! Rise and Shine! Let's greet the morning and welcome the students back!" Layla skips into the room and opens the curtains, letting in rays of sunlight. Stella groans and covers her face.

"Stella, I've got oatmeal and fresh fruit for you" Flora walks to the bed holding a tray of delicious smelling breakfast, homemade of course.

"No" Stella turns over to face the other direction

"Stella you've got to eat, you skipped all three meals yesterday" Cora enters the room and picks dirty clothing off the floor and drops them into the hamper.

"No" Stella moans. Outside in the common room, they could hear Musa's morning routine music running on full blast. The three girls in Stella's room exchanged distressed glances.

"Well, I'll leave the food right here okay?" Flora places down the tray and picks up another one with last nights dinner, untouched.

"Stella, I know it hurts, but it has been two months and you havn't left this room since that night. Please get up, get some fresh air, eat something. We're trying so hard to help you, please." Cora says before she exits the room, Flora and Layla behind her, and closes the door behind them.

They were right, two months ago, after their mission to Lynfea, Brandon broke up with Stella in the pouring rain because he thought he didn't deserve her. Since then, Stella's concealed herself in her room, and like Cora said, hasn't left it. Stella knew the girls meant well, but it hurt so much, she felt constant pain, both emotionally and physically. Bloom had been taking over her classes so she could recover, but occasionally she could hear Bloom complaining about her exhausting schedule outside her room. Stella was so lost, everything hurt, why did Brandon have to do this to her?

"How is she?" asks Bloom

"Like usual, in bed, hasn't moved, hasn't eaten, and hasn't talked" Layla slumps onto the couch

"Poor thing" Flora places the old tray on the coffee table

"Anyone talk to the guys?" Tecna enters the room with her handheld

"No, not since the breakup, we've all been doing damage control on both sides" Musa says scanning a magazine

"Yeah, Timmy just sent a text all about the new Brandon" Tecna sits at the table

"What's he been up to?" Bloom asks

"Brandon has been doing nothing but-" Tecna begins, but gets cut off.

"Crying?" asks Layla

"Sleeping?" asks Bloom

"In his room?" asks Musa

"Locking out his feelings and ignoring every attempt to get help?" asks Cora

"No, he's been keeping himself busy. Constantly doing work, whether it's fixing something, patrol, or cleaning" says Tecna

"Whoa, the complete opposite of Stella" Musa responds sarcastically

"He doesn't want to face his feelings. He's trying everything to keep himself occupied" Flora says while pouring a cup of tea.

"It's true" says Bloom

"We desperately need to do something girls" Bloom looks at all of her friends. They have to find a way to get Stella moving again.

Meanwhile, at Red Fountain, the Specialists in training are also returning to from Spring Break. The guys on the other hand remained at the school to work on senior lessons and repair things that needs fixing.

In their room, the boys were getting dressed into their uniforms to do meet and greet to the new transfer students, which, their were quite a few this semester.

"Brandon, open this door right now!" Sky yelled banging on his locked bedroom door. Even though Brandon was keeping himself busy, he still had those moments of major stress.

"Give me a minute!" Brandon yelled

"What? He doesn't want to change in front of you?" Riven walks by Sky and laughs

"Who knows?" Sky crosses his arms and taps his foot

"Brandon locks everything out in attempts to make everything better for us" Helia slips on his wire gloves

"Except it's not working" Jake leans on the wall. Suddenly the door swings open and Brandon enters the common room

"I'll meet you guys downstairs" is the only thing he says before leaving the dorm

"Half of me just wants to punch him square in the face" Sky shakes his head in disapproval

"Why don't you?" Riven smirks

"Because I know better, last thing I need is him lashing out in anger on me" Sky goes into his room to retrieve his uniform.

"Timmy, how are the girls doing?" Helia asks

"Stella hasn't left her room in two months" Timmy reads the message off of his cell.

"Why did Brandon break up with her again?" Jake asks

"Something about her deserving better than a page like him" Sky says reentering the room.

"Why would he think that?" Jakes replies

"Flora was right, you leave that forest a completely different person person than you were when you entered." Helia answers

"We should start heading down" Riven motions to the door. The guys leave the dorm and start heading downstairs for the meet and greet

In Alfea...

"It's nice to meet you, we are so excited to teach you during this new semester! Welcome!" Bloom and the rest of the winx, excluding Stella, stand before the crowd of Alfea fairies outside the school building. Once the group disbands, the winx are properly greeted by Roxy.

"Winx hey!" Roxy runs up to the group

"Roxy! How was your break?" Bloom asks

"It was great! Good to see my parents and be home!" Roxy smiles brightly

"Thats good" Says Flora

"How's Stella?" Roxy asks once she realizes that Stella was missing

"Still in the recovery process, but doing good" Cora replies

"Oh, okay" Roxy gives a comforting smile when a group of other students calls her name and summons her over.

"I'll see you girls later okay?" Roxy waves as she heads towards her other friends. The Winx decide to head back upstairs and think up a plan to get Stella out of bed.

"We could always try an emergency" suggests Layla

"What? Shall one of us cast a bad spell on another to send us to the emergency room?" asks Musa

"How would that get her out of bed exactly? She would just return to bed after" Tecna says

"A chance to flirt with hot guys?" Musa suggests

"No, that would just get her depressed" Cora mumbles while munching on a brownie

"How about we just drag her out of bed? Let's do it now! It's only noon, we've got plenty of time!" Layla pumps her fists in the air

"Very funny, she'll cling to the headboard" Bloom laughs

"How about we sleep on it?" Cora says before entering Stella's room for the hourly routine of attempting to get her out of bed.

"Stella! Time to get up!" Cora stands in front of the door and crosses her arms. Cora was getting tired of this. Stella has been sobbing for to months, Cora's patience level was running low.

"Leave me alone" Stella throws a pillow at the door and misses by a long shot. Cora moves to the dresser and opens the doors

"Look at all of the beautiful clothing you have been neglecting!" Cora pulls out some dresses that have gone untouched four weeks.

"Don't care!" Stella covers her head with a pillow

"What about this brand new makeup? You were so excited to get these new products! Look gold, lime green, sunny yellow, lemon yellow, squeezy blush pink - squeezy blush pink?! What kind of color is that?!" Cora stares at the list of provided colors of makeup

"Go away!" Stella yells

"I'm not going anywhere until you get out of that bed!" Cora waves around the makeup cases

"No!" she yells

"Yes! Get up!" Cora yells just as loud

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I said no!" Stella screams and releases a burst of energy. The others outside the room could hear things falling and Cora screaming.

"What was that?" Musa looks at everyone

"Stella has reached her limit" Tecna sighs. Everyone looks as the doors open and Cora exits Stella's room. Everyone has to stifle back laughter when they see Cora.

"So not funny" Cora groans. The burst of magic sent things flying and the cases of makeup opened. Cora was now covered in assorted shades of gold, yellow, and green. She looked a bit like a clown.

"Hmpt! You - uh - okay? Heh, Cora?" Layla asks while struggling not to laugh

"I'm never doing that again" Cora hisses between gritted teeth

"While Brandon is supposedly doing fine and keeping himself busy, Stella is the most miserable person in this world. Where is my cell phone?!" Cora starts stomping across the room, glittering trailing her path

"What are you going to do?" Bloom asks

"Give him a piece of my mind!" Cora slams her room door behind her.

"I knew Cora was going to crack today!" Tecna laughed

"So called it!" Musa laughed too. Just then a hologram appeared by the balcony doors revealing a digital image of King Radius and Queen Luna separately.

"Hello Winx" Luna greets them

"Queen Luna, King Radius. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Bloom puts down her book

"How is our daughter?" Radius asks

"Uhh, redecorating" says Musa looking at the girls

"Is something wrong?" asks Flora

"Not at all, but as you may know, Stella's birthday is into months, we thought we would send and early birthday present. Maybe it will cheer her up" Luna says

"It might" Bloom is reluctant to think that a present would help Stella, but she did love shopping.

"Well, please give this to her, it is gift from both of us, tell her we love her from the moon to the sun" Radius says as a small present appears on the coffee table.

"We'll do that, thank you" Bloom says and the girls bow their heads. Radius and Luna bow their heads in return before disappearing.

"Odd" says Bloom after a few moments

"What?" asks Flora

"I've never seen those two act so close before. The last time we saw them together, they fought. This is the first time they havn't" Bloom says staring at the present on the table

"Complete opposites, the sun and the moon" Layla says

"The fact that they come together to do this for their daughter proves how much they love Stella" Musa says. They hear Cora's voice and turn to look at her standing at her door

"If they love Stella, and they only want her true happiness, they would resolve their differences. Stella was heartbroken when her parents split. They love Stella, but not enough to want her true happiness." Cora stands at the doorway, her face wiped clean of makeup, but her clothes still smudged with gold.

"But it's the thought of giving her an early birthday present that counts" Cora says before turning around and reentering her room, door shut behind her.

"That's it!" Layla jumps off the couch

"What's it?" Bloom looks up at her

"A surprise birthday party! Let's throw her a surprise birthday party!"

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A surprise party sounds like a great idea right?

Dont forget to RxR!

Thanks! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back and ready for more story writing! Who's ready to read the next chapter?! **

**Like always!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"A surprise birthday party! Let's throw her a surprise birthday party!"

"This early?" asks Musa.

"Yes! It's the perfect idea! The perfect way to cheer her up!" Layla jumps up and down at her idea. The girls pause to think about it.

"Hmm, okay, it doesn't sound that bad." Bloom says after a minute or so. The idea actually wasn't bad at all. Stella did need a day out, even to just spend time with friends. An early birthday party could be just the way to cheer her up.

"I say we do it, she could use it to get her up and moving!" Tecna closes her laptop and gives the conversation her full attention.

"Well, where do we have it?" Flora asks while placing a tray of freshly brewed tea on the coffee table. She picks up a cup and sits beside Bloom on the couch. That was a pretty good question. Meanwhile, Cora was in her bedroom, she had just changed out of her dress and into her pajamas. Though there was still gold glitter in her hair. She picked up her cell and scrolled through her contacts. When she found Brandon's cell, she tapped _call_.

"Hello?" came the other line

"What the heck Brandon? Acting so calm and cool about your breakup? But I know, I know you're suffering somewhere deep down in that heartless soul of yours?!" Cora yells into the phone. There's a long pause.

"Huh?"

"Oh come on Brandon! How dare you act like that breakup didn't effect you? I know you miss Stella, don't deny it!" Cora demands

"What makes you think that?" he asks in a low husky voice.

"Because anyone who was madly in love with someone doesn't break up with them and move on so quickly. You're suffering, and you are just using your everyday duties at Red Fountain to make up for that." Cora explains.

"Okay, so maybe you're right, but-" he starts

"Good, then you need to get back together with her right now, this instant!" she cuts him off.

"But it's not that simple." he finishes

"How so?" Cora sighs. That's when Brandon goes on saying things she couldn't even understand.

"So when we went to Lynfea, I heard this voice, and turns out this voice wasn't some random voice, it was my self-conscious. He said, my conscious that is, that I just a page and that I don't belong with such an amazing girl like her. Then that's when I started thinking, do I deserve her? Should I talk to her? Should I even listen to myself. Of course I should to myself, it's MY self-conscious! Yeah! Yeah! And then-" Brandon said his little speech with the speed of lightning and Cora couldn't catch any of it.

"Brandon" Cora calmly cuts in.

"What?" he stops talking and asks.

"Just get to the point" Cora says. After a short, yet long pause, he finally admits what's been bugging him.

"Stella deserves better than a simple page like me!" he says

"A page huh?" Cora responds

"Yeah, a commoner, I'm not royalty. I can't give her what a prince can."

"I don't think she sees it like that" Cora says

"What do you mean?" he asks

"I mean, though you are a simple commoner who is not royalty, she doesn't care about that. She cares about the guy himself. I was told back in the girls first year, before I came here, Stella was determined to find a guy who was a handsome prince. She met you, and thought you were Prince Sky, so she fell for you, thinking you were royalty. But what did she do when she found out you weren't?" Cora says

"She..." he starts but stops short.

"She fell for you anyway" Cora finishes for him.

"She did" he says

"You might think you don't deserve someone as amazing as her, right? But think about it, she chose you four years ago. So is who she decides to be with really your choice? Or is it hers to make in the end?" Cora asks. This question gets him thinking, his decision, or hers?

"She decides who she dates, and she chose you, because you make her happy Brandon. And without you, she is completely, entirely, crazily miserable and ruining my life. Please, please do something and fix this! You have to!" Cora goes from being a wise shrink, to practically begging him to return to Stella.

"I don't know" Brandon says after a few minutes.

"That whole speech meant nothing to you!? Nothing at all? Where is your heart?" she yells.

"Will she forgive me?" Brandon asks.

"I think she will, because she needs you. You probably know she hasn't eaten or gotten out of bed in four weeks? Yeah, and we're all paying the price for it! Before, I looked like a gold and green clown. Wasn't pretty!" Cora claims. After another long pause she hears a beep come from her phone, low battery, she decides to speak up.

"Think about it please?" she asks

"Alright" he finally says.

"Good, I need to go, I'll talk to you later. Bye" she says

"Bye Cora" he hangs up. She ends the call and reenters the common room. All the girls were gathered chatting about a surprise party for Stella. They quickly explained to her the plan, and Cora said it was cool. She took a seat by the wall and plugged in her phone.

"How about on Solaria? Her home planet, it could work." Musa suggests

"Too fancy and royal, and the last time she had a party on Solaria, she got turned into a monster" Cora reminds them from her corner of the room by the balcony doors. She kept her head down looking at her phone texting Jake.

"Fruity Music Bar?" Layla asks

"Roxy told me they're renovating. Something about a spell gone out of control. The whole place is trashed, see?" Tecna shows everyone a picture Roxy sent her of the Fruity Music Bar after a spell gone whack. The lamps were on the floor, the bar(which was originally attached to the floor) had lifted off and found its way to the stage. The tables were torn, and the wall had turned green somehow?

"Whoa, that's gonna need a lot of renovating" Bloom comments

"Ok, how about..." Layla looks around the room for ideas of where to host the best party ever. She knows the group has been to Andros, Melody, Lynfea, and even Zenith. They needed a new place, like a fresh start for Stella, but where could this place be? Stella has been pretty much everywhere in the magic dimension. From every fashion department, to every monarchy planet for parties, so where could they go? Her eyes land on Cora, who was absorbed in her phone.

"Hey Cora?" Layla perks up.

"Hmm?" she replies.

"We've never been to Mercuris. In fact, we've never even seen a photo of the planet. What's it like there?" Layla asks

"Uhm, sunny, cloudy, snowy, rainy..." Cora comments

"No, you're the princess of Mercuris right? So you grew up there, and you know the planet. Is it a nice place to throw a party?" Layla asks

"I guess it wouldn't be that bad" Cora shrugs

"Then how about we throw the party there?" Layla asks

"Yeah, none of us have ever been there before, but I heard Mercuris is a nice planet! Can we Cora?" Bloom asks. Cora sighs and responds.

"Sure"

"Great! So now that we have a location, we can start organizing it! We need to go early to decorate, so if we go tomorrow to decorate, we can have the party next week! Is that okay?" Musa asks and everyone turns to Cora. She unplugs her phone and stands up.

"Sure, tomorrow morning. Tell the guys." she says before going back to her room, locking the door behind her.

"Did we say something?" Tecna asks

"I have no idea what's up with her" Layla says

"Well then, I'll tell Sky, and tomorrow we'll take a Red Fountain ship to Mercuris!" Bloom reaches for her cell on the table and sends a text to Sky.

At Red Fountain

Sky was changing out of his uniform when his phone buzzed, on the screen, read a text from Bloom. He examined the text:

_Throwing surprise b-day party for Stell's on Mercuris_

_Going to decorate tomorrow_

_Can you and the guys come?_

After examining the text several times, Sky looks up and tells the guys what he believed was going on. There wasn't much he could get out of the that text message.

"So, the girls are planning on throwing Stella a surprise birthday party on Mercuris, and they're going to decorate tomorrow, do we want to go with them?" Sky steps out into the common room and asks his friends.

"Birthday party? Stella's birthday isn't for another two months?!" Timmy says

"I know, but that's what they said, so do we want to go with them?" Sky asks

"I guess so, we're off tomorrow, so why not?" Helia says

"Good with you two?" Sky turns to Riven and Jake

"Sounds good to me" Riven says. Jake doesn't immediately respond, he was frowning at his cell phone.

"Jake?" Sky snaps his fingers to get his attention

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure tomorrow" Jake gets up and goes into his room.

"What's up with him?" Sky asks

"Mood swings" Riven comments

"What about Brandon? Should he go too?" Timmy asks. Brandon had been doing his usual act of locking himself in his room, now had locked himself in the bathroom, and it sounded like he was talking to himself a few times.

"We can ask him when he gets out of the bathroom" Sky turns around and reenters his room

The next morning, the girls are outside waiting for the guys to pick them up. They had told Stella that they were going out for a little while. Like usual, she didn't care and just moaned. Everyone was eagerly talking about the party, while Cora kept to herself at the side, frowning a bit. All eyes glanced up when a large ship was floating above them, getting ready to land. When it did, the doors opened and Jake greeted them.

"Hello ladies, good morning to you!" he said in what sounded like a forced cheerful voice. they filed into the ship single file. Each girl greeted Jake with a smile, but when Cora walked up, she just glanced at him with a small quick smile. They took their seats and buckled in. When this was done, they took off and made way to the Mercuris, the planet of the planets. The flight wasn't that long, and they passed the time through chatting and laughing.

"So this is an early birthday party for Stella to try and cheer her up?" Sky asks from the controls.

"Yep! Thought up by our one and only Layla!" Bloom says

"I've never been to Mercuris, Jake what's it like there?" Helia asks

"It's nice, sunny, rainy, cloudy, snowy. It's a more independent planet, so it doesn't often get involved with other planets. They also aren't connected with other planets in the magical dimension." Jake explains

"Interesting" Tecna and Timmy say at the same time. They turn to each other and laugh when they realized they did so. They fly through an Omega Portal and make their way through a colorful tunnel. When the ship reaches the end of the tunnel, the ship is immersed in bright white light before the planet comes into view. Everyone gasps as they look at the amazing view of Mercuris. It was bright and sunny, puffy clouds in the sky, and crystal clear bodies of water below them. The fields were different shades of green and the urban areas were filled with multi-colored buildings, buzzing with life. In the distance was the castle, standing tall at the edge of the kingdom.

"Amazing! Jake where do you live?" Flora asks

"Where do I live?" he asks

"Yeah!" she replies

"Uh, see that lake down there? Not far from the castle." he points out the window to a small body of water

"I live in the house next to it" he finishes

"That's not house! That's a mansion!" Flora exclaims when she finds the building he was pointing to

"Well, it's home" Jake smiles.

"Hey, is that the Planetary Dome down there?" Riven asks pointing to the giant dome in the center of the city.

"Yeah, that's where they're hosting the Planetary Games this year." Jake answers

"Nice!" Helia cheers. They fly across the sky and make their way closer to the palace, Cora's home.

"We're almost at the castle, Cora where should we land?" Sky turns around and asks. Cora stands up and walks behind him.

"You can just lands the ship in that big field beside the castle." Cora points the particular field. Sky directs the smooth landing. They all exit the ship and start walking to the castle. As they get closer, they see two people waiting for them halfway. They're dressed nicely in shades of blue, green, and purple. They bear gems, jewels, and crowns. They approach with smiling faces and open arms.

"Mom! Dad!" Cora runs ahead of the group and jumps into her fathers arms, the king of Mercuris. And beside him, Cora's mother, the Queen of Mercuris.

"That's the happiest she's been all day" Tecna leans over and whispers to Musa.

"I know" she whispers back.

"Cora!" King Daron scoops her up. When he places her down, Cora goes to hug her mom.

"How have you been darling?" Queen Clarissa asks.

"I've been good!" Cora smiles.

"Jake! How are things at Red Fountain?" King Daron gestures for Jake to step forward. He take his hand and shakes it.

"Everything's great you Highness" Jake smiles sheepishly.

"What have I told you about calling me Highness or Majesty?!" Daron asks

"Sorry, Daron" Jake corrects himself.

"Ahh, now that's better!" Daron gives him a pat on the back. Daron walks behind him to greet the group. Jake turns and looks at Cora, quickly turning away when she met his glance. Flora leans toward Layla and whispers.

"Did they get into a fight?" she asks.

"I don't know, but they aren't acting normal, that's for sure. Maybe something happened last night when they were texting eachother?" Layla responds.

"You must be Cora's friends, The Winx!" Daron approaches the group. They each bow before the King and Queen.

"It's a pleasure to meet you King Daron and Queen Clarissa." Bloom curtsies.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well" Clarissa replies with a smile.

"You have a beautiful kingdom." Flora says.

"Well, we try our best!" Daron laughs

"Now let me try to guess your names!" Daron smiles.

"Oh no!" Cora gasps from behind him.

"Now let's see..." Daron strokes his small beard.

"You are...Flora!" Daron points to Tecna who shakes her head.

"No, I'm-" she begins, but is cut off.

"Nope! I want to guess!" Daron stops her. Cora can be seen from behind him covering her face with her hands. Jake smiles and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Musa!" he points to Flora.

"No" she shakes her head.

"Bloom!" he guesses again, and she shakes her head.

"Tecna?" he tries once more.

"Layla?" he asks scratching his head. Flora giggles and shakes her head.

"How about the boys!?" Daron rubs his hands together.

"Brandon!" he points to Sky.

"No" Sky says

"Than you are Sky!" he points to Helia.

"Sorry" Helia shakes his head.

"Well, I know you're not Nabu, so, who?" Daron looks around and scratches his head.

"Oh dad" Cora sighs

"One more try!" he yells.

"Tecna!" he points to Musa.

"Afraid not" Musa stifles back laughter.

"But doesn't Tecna have black hair? Didn't you say Tecna had jet black hair?!" he turns around to look at Cora.

"No dad, I didn't" Cora laughs.

"Oh" he turns back around.

"Honey" Clarissa steps to her husbands side.

"Princess Bloom of Sparx, King Sky of Eraklyon, Princess Layla of Andros, Guardian Fairy Flora of Lynfea, her boyfriend and teacher at Red Fountain Helia, Guardian Fairy Musa of Melody, another teacher of Red Fountain Riven, Guardian Fairy Tecna of Zenith, and Red Fountain teacher Timmy." Queen Clarissa successfully points everyone out.

"Ok, I was close right?" Daron shrugs and points out.

"We welcome you all to Mercuris!" Clarissa opens her arms to the group and smiles.

"Any friends of Cora's are friends to us!" Daron adds.

"Speaking of Cora!" Daron turns around and eyes Cora and Jake suspiciously.

"You two have a fight?" he points to the two of them.

"Dad!" Cora sighs and looks away.

"That's a yes!" Daron turns and looks a Clarissa. She walks to his side and tells him to shh.

"Is everything alright darling?" Clarissa asks.

"Mom, I assure you, everything is fine. Nothing we can't work out on our _own!" _She puts an emphasis on the word own.

"Very well" Daron adds with a sigh. He turns around and faces the group.

"As I understand it, you want to throw a surprise party here for a friend?" Daron asks

"Yes, for our friend Stella, she's been having a rough month" Bloom says.

"And will you be using the Royal Pavilion?" Clarissa asks

"Pavilion?" everyone asks and looks at Cora who speaks up.

"Uh, the Royal Pavilion is a garden with magical properties in a hidden spot on the castle grounds. Yeah, we're going to use it mom" Cora says

"Okay than, and the ballroom?" Daron asks, Cora just replies with a nod.

"Well you know where to go, hop to it, and have fun!" Daron smiles.

"Thank you your majesties!" The group cheers. With Cora and Jake leading, they follow them into the castle.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed it! This was a pretty simple chapter, the baseline of the whole story to unfold in later chapters!**

**RxR!**

**Oh! And there will be a surprise or two coming up, so don't forget to follow to keep up with this story.**

**Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 is out! With school coming to an end, I'll be much more busier, but I'll try to bring more chapters out as quickly as I can wtheir the next few weeks.**

**Like always!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The palace consisted of numerous high towers reaching far up into the sky. Mostly covered the mirrors and silver covering, the sun was reflected on the shiny material. Giant palace doors open as they approach, also covered with jewels and mirrors with two guards keeping a watch. The bow to Cora as she walks pass and through the doors. As soon as the group is in the corridor, the whole kingdom can be seen through the glass windows.

"Wonderful view" Flora says as she looks out into the city. They continue farther down the hall. Passing servants and guards on patrol, each bowing to Cora. She smiles and bows her head in return. They eventually come upon a double door entryway. On the doors was inscribed a title in bold letters.

Hall of Planetary Record

Beside the door was a man dressed in a black suit taking notes furiously on a pad. He looked up when he heard the group approaching and his face immediately lit up.

"Princess Cora! Welcome home!" he bows.

"Marvin! How are you?" she stops to greet him.

"Very well thank you miss. I was just finalizing the arrangements in the Hall of Planetary Record." he replies.

"Is the project complete?" she asks.

"Yes! It finally is!" he turns around and examines the giant doors.

"That's wonderful!" Cora replies with a radiant smile. When Jake sees her face, he becomes overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and desperation. He turns away abruptly to face the window.

"What's the Hall if Planetary Record?" Musa asks.

"Oh Marvin, these are my friends. The Winx and the Specialists of Red Fountain." Cora gestures to the group.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Cora never talks about her friends!" Marvin laughs and eyes Cora who rolls her eyes.

"The Hall of Planetary Record is a record of every planet and it's habitants in the magic dimension. There's everything from population, to creatures, music, plant species, minerals, culture and more" Marvin says

"Really? Of every planet?" Sky asks.

"Yes sir" he replies.

"It's been a huge project for Mercuris. Seeing how we're the planet of planets" Cora explains.

"It'll be complete tomorrow and then we'll be ready for tours! Know anyone who might be interested?" Marvin asks.

"Actually i do" Cora says. She smiles and looks at the others. They all give her a questionable look.

"Think about it! We can use it as a reason to bring Stella here! It's perfect!" Cora says. After a moment to think about it, everyone agrees.

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Bloom says.

"Wonderful! When will you want the tour?" asks Marvin.

"Next week would be perfect!" Layla says.

"Next week it is! Noon sound good? It's about a four hour tour" Marvin flips through his pad.

"Four hours?! Gee wiz!" Tecna gasps.

"Noon is great!" Cora laughs and turns to Marvin. After goodbyes, Cora leads the way to the ball room. A giant dome shaped room with windows facing the Royal Pavilion. There were crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, and a glistening floor that was clean enough to eat off of.

"Big enough?" Cora asks. Everyone gasps at the over sized ballroom. There was definitely enough space for hundreds of decorations.

"It's perfect!" Bloom says.

"Then let's get started!" Layla dashes down the stairs.

"Wait Layla no!" Cora yells after her. Before Layla can stop she jumps onto the polished floor and, to her surprise, starts slipping and sliding across it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she spins and tries to steady herself.

"The floor hasn't been buffed yet!" Cora yells.

"Buffed?" Helia asks her.

"The last gathering went a bit-out of control. The ballroom was practically destroyed. Everything in here, the windows, the walls, lights, and the floor are brand new. Just installed." Cora scratches her neck and looks on as Layla slips and falls on her back.

"I'm good!" she yells.

"Someone was supposed to buff it last night! I don't know why they didn't! Guess I'll have to do it. This is like my bedroom all over again" Cora mumbles as she slides down the railing and leaps onto the floor at full speed. She slides to the center of the room, moving her legs as if she was ice skating. Once there, she spins until she is spinning quickly. She lifts her leg in the air and bends down at the hip. Reaching for the floor, A glowing ball of energy appears at her hand. Once it touches the floor, ripples of light spread across the room magically buffing the floor. Cora stands up and wipes her hands against each other.

"And that my friends, is how you buff a floor the magical way!" she says with a wink. Everyone laughs and makes their way down the stairs. Layla stands up and rubs her sore tush.

"You okay?" Bloom asks her.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine" she assures everyone.

Within the next few hours, time is spent wisely decorating and choosing the food for next weeks party. The chef brought out all different sorts of food to taste and choose from. The girls transform to move decorations high up to the ceiling. Musa chooses the soundtrack, while the boys do the heavy lifting. Flora decorates the walls with an arrangement of flowers and Tecna sets up the probe lights and such. Bloom and Layla spend their time deciding which food to have. And all at the same time, everyone has fun, except for Cora and Jake.

"Let's see, decorations or good, food is set, music is in progress, I hope they don't drop those stereos, and lights are good to go!" Cora checks everything off her mental list.

"Oh! Can't forget fire works!" she pulls our her tablet

and starts tapping away.

"Fireworks? There are going to be fireworks?" Tecna lands beside her and looks up to examine her technical light work.

"Yup, we order them from Eraklyon." Cora says without looking up.

"Awesome! I want my party here!" Musa calls from the newly set up stage. She was trying to decide of her set up was centered enough.

"Okay boys, can you move it a bit more to the left?" she motions for Riven and Helia to lift the stereo and move it.

"No not that far! Bit more to the right!" she calls out. After a few more instructions, they finally have it where she wants it. They place it down with a heavy sigh and lean on it.

"Don't get sweat all over it, good work out routine!" she snaps her fingers and the stereo begins blasting music. Riven and Helia, taken by surprise, back away and cover their ears.

"Heh, wake up call" Musa laughs. Riven smirks and chases after her.

"No!" Musa laughs and starts running away. Apparently she is too slow and it doesn't take Riven long to catch her. He wraps his arms around her from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder.

"Think you're so funny huh?" he mumbles with his eyes half closed.

"I'm hilarious" she whispers back. She turns to him and pecks him on the cheek.

"One of the things you love about me" she says and gets a grin out of him. Suddenly a deflated balloon hits Musa in the face. When they look over, Bloom and Flora are flying in the air with their arms crossed.

"Hey! No cuddling on the job!" Bloom laughs. Riven lets go of Musa and they make their way back to the stage.

"Need help?" Cora approaches Jake. He was decorated a tables by himself.

"Sure." he moves aside to give her room. She picks up a streamer and carefully tapes it to the edge of the table. He completely stops what he is doing and stares at her. Why did he have to get so defensive about talking to that fairy? It wasn't her fault she just wanted to know what was going on. Now it's his fault they had gotten into a fight. He puts down his things and reaches for her hand.

"Cora." he takes her hand and looks out her. She's taken by surprise.

"Listen, about last night, I shouldn't have over reacted like that. You had a right to know what I was doing." he says. She stares him right in the eye.

"I just wasn't in the mood to explain. I just wanted you to drop the subject, but you wouldn't, so I got angry. I'm sorry." he explains. When she doesn't respond, he releases her hand and ducks his head.

"Jake, look at me" she places her hand on his cheek and lifts his head to face hers.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have bothered you about it do much." she smiles. He grins and pulls her in to an embrace.

"Thank you" he whispers in her hair. They remain in silence for a few moments when a voice rings through the ballroom.

"Haa! I knew it! You were in a fight! I knew it!" it echoes through the room. Everyone looks up from their activities and look around the room.

"Who was that?" Sky asks.

"It sounded like my dad" Cora pulls away from Jake and looks around. Clarissa enters the ballroom and looks at the ceiling.

"Mom? Wheres dad?" she asks Clarissa. She looks up and points to the glass dome skylight. At the edge of the dome, above the glass is the king holding a pair of binoculars.

"Dad?!" Cora yells. What the heck was he doing on the dome of the castle.

"What's he doing?" Jake asks.

"He's trying out his new binoculars." Clarissa sighs.

"On the roof?" Cora gawks at her mom who nods in reply. Daron looks down at them and waves.

"Why on the roof mom?" she turns to her mother.

"He was worried you and Jake got into a bad fight. He wanted to check up." she replies.

"Does he realize he can get really hurt up there?!" she yells pointing up at him. Her mother shrugs.

"He's being adventurous" she mumbles.

"Honey please come down from there!" she calls up to him.

"Okay, there's only one problem! I don't know how!" he calls back down. Cora sighs and outs her head in her hand.

"Are you all done decorating? The place looks great!" Clarissa looks around the ballroom.

"Yeah, I think we are." Bloom does a final check around.

"Good, I'll arrange for everything to stay where it is. The room. Isn't to be touched between now and next week. Now if we could all clear the room, I think we need to get a crane in here." Clarissa ushers everyone to the door. Everyone files out into the corridor.

"How did your dad get up there anyway?" Riven asks.

"I don't know. He finds ways to do things even he doesn't know how to do." Cora sighs in response.

"So, it's seven. Should we start heading back?" Tecna checks her watch.

"I guess we should, Stella will be wondering where we are." Flora says.

"Yeah, same with Brandon. He locked himself in his room again. You don't even want to know what I had to do to get my shoes out of there this morning." Sky laughs as they all make their way down the hall, the way they came. The sun was beginning to set on Mercuris. From the palace windows, the view was spectacular. The setting sun reflecting off of the lake down the rhode made a beautiful picture perfect moment. They exit the palace with a farewell from the guards and Marvin who was walking around in the garden.

"Goodbye! I'll see you next week!" he calls. They board the Red Fountain ship and take off for the Magix. Once in the air, the girls get out of their seats and walk around the ship. Layla checks her phone and finds five missed calls from her mother.

"Mom?" she hits call and waits for her to pick up. Meanwhile Cora gets up and walks over to Jake at his control panel.

"Hi" she leans on his chair behind him.

"Hey" he turns around and face her. She leans down and kisses him on the cheek and whispers something before she pulls away.

"I still don't like her" she whispers. He smiles up at her.

"I know. Someone's feeling a little jealous" he turns around back to the controls. Cora giggles and whacks him on the head.

"Ugh!" Layla tosses her phone on the seat beside her. Everyone turns to look at her.

"Everything okay Layla?" Bloom asks. Layla crosses her arms and stares at the floor.

"My mom wants me to go back to Andros so she can talk to me." she says.

"Well what about?" Musa asks.

"Marriage." Layla mumbles.

"Marriage? Do you know that for sure?" Flora asks.

"No, she didn't say so, but I know. My parents need assurance that there will be an heir to the throne in case something ever happens to them. Of course, I am the heir, but they want a king as well. And since Nabu isn't here anymore-" she stops short. Bloom sits beside her and takes her hand.

"Well that's ridiculous! Okay? They can't force marriage upon you! You've been through too much. Even your parents can't force you to do anything, not yet." she assures Layla.

"Thanks" she replies. The ship lands in the courtyard of Alfea. The girls file off and wave goodbye as the boys take off and fly to Red Fountain.

"Who's ready to take care of Stella?" Tecna asks as they walk into the school.

"Not me, it's someone else's turn!" Cora excuses herself cooly.

"I'll bring her dinner" Flora turns off and heads for the kitchen to prepare something nice for Stella. The girls continue back to the dorm for the night.

* * *

**Simple, yet interesting I believe. Tell me what you thiRedlands chapter 4 will be rolling through soon!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Next chapter is up! Note everyone, this might be last chapter I will be able to post in the next few weeks, just like this one, finals are approaching and I've got to hit the books.**

**But like usual, **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

The next week goes by like usual, the Winx teach their classes daily and Stella never leaves her room, let alone her bed. She told herself she would get up multiple times, but she never got to doing it. Day in and day out she has been tucked under her covers despite the fact it was warm and sunny out. Meanwhile, the other girls go about everything like normal. They bring Stella her meals, try to get her out of bed twice everyday, and give their best effort to console her. Stella appreciates it of course, but she is not in the mood to do anything to thank them.

"So who is ready for the pop quiz?" Bloom enters the classroom to find her class already in their seats. Right, she's late again. Since Stella was not in the state to teach her classes, Bloom volunteered to be her replacement teacher. Her schedule was now twice as long as it used to be. She missed her lunch break and had so many other things to think about. In one instance, she forgot which class she was in and gave out the wrong assignment, now that was a bad moment.

"Yes Miss Bloom." One of the girls in the front row responds. Bloom walks over to the desk and faces the class.

"Now, a simple quiz, one question. I expect each of you to know what and how to answer it." she smiles. Part of the class smiles, the other part nervously laugh or giggle.

"Give me a combined product of crystalized fairy dust and eternal flame?" she raises both of her hands holding the mentioned elements above them. The class does as she says and pull out the chosen elements. They use the proper method for binding two very powerful objects, resulting in a burst of glittering energy followed with a POP sound. The class gasps and smiles a their creation.

"And that was the _pop_ quiz!" Bloom says and smiles along with the other girls. They laugh and enjoy the glittering lights sparkling around them.

"Now, for the rest of the lesson. Please put your attention to the blackboard students, the sparkles will still be there when we're done." she turns around and picks up a piece of chalk.

In the next room over...

"Though it may seem that flowers and plants are delicate creatures, they can be very helpful to you. That is, only if you know the proper way to ask." Flora stands behind a Venus Fly Trap, a giant Venus Fly Trap.

"Miss Flora, I don't think it is exactly safe to ask a giant carnivorous plant to help you, especially when you could be its next meal." one girl in the front of the class points out. Flora giggles and shakes her head.

"You don't have to worry about that. If you ask them politely, they won't make you their next meal. Now, can I have a volunteer?" she turns to her class. They all look around themselves, but nobody volunteers.

"Hmm, how about you Dahlia?" she motions for the purple haired girl to come to the front of the room. She shyly stands up and makes her way forward.

"Now don't worry, it's not going to hurt you, maybe squeeze, but it will only be for a few seconds. Ready?" Flora goes into defensive stance, both arms in front of her, ready to detain the plant if needed.

"Okay" she mumbles and steps closer to the Venus Fly Trap. In a split second, it reaches for her and wraps it sticky weeds around her waist and hoists her into the air.

"Ahhhhh!" she screams as she is flipped upside down and tossed from side to side. The whole class jumps out of their seats and gasps.

"Don't worry, she will be fine. This is not your opportunity to hurt the plant, this is what it naturally does. Unless the plant is cursed, it can be stopped in a non-violent way. Watch." Flora whispers a silent chant and sends a vibe through the air straight to the plant clinging to Dahlia.

"Please let her go, I would prefer if you did not eat her." whispers rattle the giant plant. It remains motionless for a few moments as if contemplating what it had just heard and felt. The class too remains silent. After a few seconds, it flips her upright and places Dahlia back onto the floor and retracts it's weeds. Dahlia turns around and backs away clutching her waist.

"Thank you" Flora says aloud to the plant. She turns back to the class.

"Now that is a safe and non-violent method for asking a plant to do something for you. Can you see how simple it was?" She asks. They nod and talk amongst themselves.

"Who would like to learn how to talk to plants the magical way?" she asks next. Everyone raises their hand.

Meanwhile, at Red Fountain...

"Dude, wasn't that my job?" Riven stands in front of a hawk ship, once in need of repair, now is fully operational. Brandon stands behind him and scratches his head.

"It was just sitting here, I thought I would just get it done already." Brandon sighs. Riven turns around and glares at him.

"Ii was going to do it eventually!" he shrugs. Brandon crosses his arms.

"Going to do what eventually?" Timmy asks as he approaches them.

"Tell Brandon to stop doing everyone's jobs. Makes me feel like I'm incapable of doing anything!" he takes another glance at the ship and stomps past them. They watch him walk away.

"You're doing it again Brandon." Timmy faces him.

"Doing what?" he replies with a sigh. Timmy grins and shakes his head.

"Finding completely absurd ways to keep yourself occupied. Waking up at dawn, getting you daily duties done and then doing the jobs of others. You're making everyone feel incompetent again!" Timmy says. Brandon shrugs and looks away.

"I've got nothing else to do" he mumbles.

"Oh yes he does" someone says from the walkway of the newly repaired hawk ship. Jake steps down and beeps the door shut.

"Do what Cora has been telling you and mend things with Stella. We all know you still have feelings for her." he says. Brandon gawks at his comment and looks at Timmy.

"It's true bro!" Timmy smiles.

"How do you know that?" Brandon yells at them. They both laugh and sigh.

"Well when you happen to be in the bathroom and talking to yourself, I happen to be waiting outside the door for you to exit the bathroom." Timmy places his hands on his hips.

"And when you are roommates with the person who happened to hear you talking to yourself, you happen to learn many new things." Jake wipes his hands on a towel. Brandon stares at them, his mouth forming a perfect O.

"Not cool Timmy." he glares at him. Timmy smiles and shrugs.

"Then you shouldn't talk to yourself in the bathroom."

"I wasn't talking to myself. I was talking to Cora, she was giving me advice." he sighs. Jake leans closer to him.

"Then take that advice and use it." he says before turning around and walking away. After watching Jake leave, Brandon turns to Timmy who nods and follows suit.

"Great!" Brandon shrugs.

"Yo Brandon!" Sky walks up to him.

"Yeah? Got advice for me too?" he glares. Sky stops short.

"No, I need to convince to do something." he replies.

"Like what?"

"Like going to a surprise party on Mercuris on Saturday" Sky says. Brandon thinks for a few seconds.

"Surprise party for who?" Brandon asks.

"Stella, early birthday." Sky answers. Brandon stares and makes a confused face.

"An why would anyone invite the ex of the birthday girl to the party?" he asks.

"Because it will give you an opportunity to mend your relationship with her." Sky says.

"How?" Brandon asks.

"Like talking to her, getting back together, become friends, I don't know! Anything is better than the state you're in now." Sky sighs. Brandon looks away and takes a deep breath.

"Fine, but I can't guarantee I'll make it out of there alive." he sighs. Sky smiles and pats him on the back.

"Don't worry man, we've got you're back!"

Alfea...

"Im going to take a cat nap, wake me if anything happens!" Bloom enter the dorm common room and walks straight into her own bedroom without even looking twice at the giant present sitting on the coffee table. The present which was meant for Stella, they didn't have to worry about her walking in on them.

"Maybe one of us should take over for Stella's classes and give Bloom a break." Flora says after Bloom closes the door to their bedroom.

"None of us knows the content better than Bloom. We wouldn't even know what to teach." Tecna says.

"Right" Flora sighs. Layla enters the room from her bedroom with her cell phone in hand. She plops into the couch and rests her head against Cora's shoulder.

"Your parents?" she asks. Layla nods in response.

"Still havn't gotten a chance to get over to Andros. It's been a busy week for all of us." Layla mumbles and sits back up.

"Well, we have a few hours before we have to head to Mercuris Saturday morning. Maybe you can head over there then?" Musa suggests.

"I might just do that." Layla nods after thinking about it.

"I'll go with you if you want. I need to sort some royal affairs with your parents. Plus, my mom wants more Andros sea coral to decorate the Foyer. My dad also likes your planets seaweed for some reason. " Cora says. Layla smiles at her.

"You know, that would be great. Have a friend with me." she smiles. Tecna stares at Cora.

"Your father is a very interesting man Cora." she says. Cora laughs.

"And I love him for it. Sometimes he can be weird though." she sighs.

"We do all realize that today is Friday right?" Musa reminds everyone. The week has been so busy that they lost track of the days.

"Oh, so we all have to go to Mercuris tomorrow. Heh, that week went by fast." Layla laughs to herself.

"Thank goodness, I'm exhausted!" Musa falls back in her seat.

"We'll be even more tired tomorrow. Sky invited Brandon." Flora says holding up her phone. There was a message from Helia on the screen.

"Oh no!" Tecna sighs.

"How do you think that will work? Ten bucks Stella beats him up!" Cora laughs.

"Ten bucks we won't even be able to get her out of bed!" Tecna laughs.

"Oh yeah, we still have to do that don't we?" Layla looks at the other girls. They exchange tired looks.

"Yes we do, but it'll be worth it, don't worry." Flora smiles at them and places a tray of energizing herbal tea on the table. At least, they hope it'll be worth it in the end...

* * *

**And so, a simple chapter, leading into the next day of the party.**

**How will it go? Good? Bad? Complete success? And Layla finally approaches her parents since the loss of Nabu, can she handle it?**

**Well, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter.**

**Please RxR! I want to know your opinions and any suggestions.**

**Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Is everyone ready to go?" Musa stands at the door dressed in her party dress. Stylish as usual.

"Bloom's inside Stella's room waking her up. Seems like it worked because nothing has exploded yet." Cora says. Layla walks up behind her.

"Ready to go to Andros, it shouldn't take long." Layla says. Layla had planned to go to take a pit stop at Andros before going to the party and Cora said she would go with her.

"Sure, everyone will go ahead of us and we'll meet them halfway through the tour." Cora says.

"Did Bloom get Stella up?" Tecna and Flora approach them. Just then, the door to Stella's bedroom opens and Bloom steps out.

"Yep, she just got out of the shower. I had to make sure she didn't just turn on the shower and fake it all." she sighs and grabs her handbag.

"And she's getting dressed?" Musa asks. Bloom nods.

"How long do you think it will take?" Tecna examines her watch.

"Not long at all. She's a pretty fast dresser." Bloom assures them. Well, she's a pretty fast dresser most of the time, at least when she wants to be. About ten minutes later, the group found their way to the couches and were relaxing, too tired from standing up at the door. Stella finally joined them, dressed in a dazzling mandarin orange sun dress and strapped wedges. Her eyes were still swollen from all the forced sleep she had, but other than that, she looked like good old Stella.

"How do I look?" she asks. They stand up and smile at her.

"You look great Stell's, ready to go?" Bloom motions for her to join them. When she does, Layla and Cora step away from the group.

"We'll see you half-way through the tour. Marvin will be waiting at the door for you in the palace. He's really excited." Cora says. Marvin was the royal family's personal butler, handling grounds keeping, and maintenance of the castle. Sometimes, he even acted as Cora's guidance counselor.

"Okay, good luck, bye." Flora waves.

"Have fun!" Layla waves.

"WINX BELIEVIX!" The others cry in unison. In a matter of seconds, they transform into fairies.

"SPEEDIX!" they shout and switch their wings into the fast flying teleport wings. They wave and disappear in a flash of light, headed for Mercuris. Cora and Layla stand side by side.

"Ready?" Cora asks. Layla nods.

"HEART OF MERCURIS!" Cora shouts and summons the heart. The energy was almost palpable and the light was so bright, illuminating the whole room.

"Teleport us!" Cora commands the heart. It brings them from on location to another in a matter of seconds. Flashes of light scattered around them. Next they find themselves in the royal foyer of the land palace of Andros. Cora sends the heart away.

"Layla? Sweetheart, it's so good to see you!" Layla's mother, Queen Niobe rushes toward them with her arms open. Layla greets her.

"Hi mom" she says and hugs her. Cora could obviously see the slight tension between them.

"How have you been? Why are you all dressed up?" Niobe asks and examines both Layla's and Cora's attire.

"Going to a party after we leave Andros. I came because you said you wanted to see me?" Layla changes the subject. She just wanted to get this conversation over with already.

"Ah, yes, we have something very important to talk about." Niobe looks at Cora with a nervous glance. She immediately gets the hint.

"Where do you keep the famous seaweeds?" she asks. Niobe laughs.

"You like them?" she asks. Cora shakes her head.

"They're pretty good, my dad loves them you see and he wanted me to pick up more when I dropped by here. Oh, speaking of that, I need to speak to someone about the Planetary Games and how the merfolk are going to be seeing it?" Cora says.

"You'll have to speak to my husband about that. He's in the throne room. The seaweed is in the kitchen, you can ask the chef for some to take home." Niobe points in the direction of the throne and then the kitchen, completely opposite ways.

"Thank you" Cora bows and makes her way down the hall headed for the throne room. When she is out of sight, Niobe turns to Layla.

"What?" Layla asks when she notices her mother is staring at her. Niobe folds her hands neatly in front of her and inhales deeply.

"Honey, I know with everything that has been going on lately, with losing Nabu and such, it is a lot of stress right?" she asks.

"Yes, that's right." Layla sighs.

"As your father and I get older, a time will come to pass the throne on to our heir, our only heir, you Layla." Niobe continues calmly. Layla didn't like where this was going.

"Okay, but I don't think that's going to be for a while." Layla says.

"Yes, but in order to satisfy tradition, the princess is due to marry at the age of twenty or twenty-one." her mother replies. Layla roles her eyes.

"Come on mom! Tradition?!" she sighs deeply.

"Yes tradition! You need to marry sweetheart. We won't choose for you, whom you marry is completely your choice. You need to understand that you are the princess and the future queen of Andros. You have responsibilities and duties to attend to, like a proper royal!" Niobe points out. As much as Layla hated to admit, her mother was right. Niobe remains composed and proper as she delivers her speech, something Layla could never do.

"Mother, there is a lot going on right now. Could you please just, I don't know, give me a bit longer? I don't have the energy or the patience to fight with you about this, so please, just don't force any of this on me?!" Layla asks as politely as she can.

"Of course Layla, as long as you satisfy tradition, it is okay." Niobe replies.

"Great!" Layla snaps, turns on her heel, and walks off without giving her mother a second glance.

**Mercuris**

The gang had just entered the palace with a warm greeting from the guards and directions on how to get to the Hall of Planetary Record. As they make their way closer to the door, they can see Marvin waiting in front of it. The King and Queen were also standing with Marvin. When they see the group approaching, King

"Welcome! Welcome! You must be Stella! We've heard so much about you!" King Daron greets them with a broad smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you your highnesses." Stella steps forward and bows before the king and queen.

"The pleasure is ours dear. Please just call us by our names, there's no need for that in our own home." Queen Clarissa says. Stella nods and backs up to stand with the other girls.

"Your boyfriends had just went off to the ball...I mean bathroom to...freshen up." King Daron nervously says.

"Since when to boys go to the bathroom to freshen up?" Stella looks at Flora who giggles and shrugs.

"Well, they should be back any minute." Daron folds his hands behind him and nods.

"If you will excuse us, we need to get going. It was a delight seeing you again Winx!" Queen Clarissa says as they bid their goodbyes and walk down the corridor.

"As soon as your other friends arrive, we can begin!" Marvin smiles with a hint of giddiness.

"Well it looks like they're coming now." Musa says and nods down the hall where the Specialists were making their way towards them. They were dressed in their everyday outfits.

"Hello ladies!" Timmy waves and hugs Tecna.

"Riven, long time no see." Musa giggles and kisses him on the cheek.

"Did you go to the ballroom? Is everything on and ready to go?" Bloom whispers to Sky. He nods and winks. Stella stands to the side and examines the door. Hall of Planetary Record? It was an awfully big door. The light from the windows and the chandeliers hurt her eyes which hadn't yet adjusted to the brightness. Staying in bed for three months has it's affects. Then she turned ever so slightly and took a side glance at the rest of the group. Standing at the back, looking amazing as usual, yet it burrowed a giant hole through her hurt, was Brandon. She looks again and rubs her eyes, he was really there, looking right at her. She stomps over to Bloom and taps her on the shoulder.

"You didn't say HE was going to be here!" she hisses and points a finger at her ex boyfriend. Bloom looks and laughs nervously.

"About that. Did I mention Brandon was going to be here too?" she smiles sweetly. Stella just glares at her.

"Surprise?" Sky asks. Stella then glares at him too.

"I swear, if I even have to speak to him, let alone look at him for more than ten seconds, I am going to beat the living life out of him. You better keep an eye on me or I just might do it!" She crosses her arms and glares at him. The worst part was, he didn't even seem like he was in bad shape. In fact, he looked fantastic. His abs and broad shoulders. His shaped and refined set. Meanwhile, she had lost ten pounds from refusing to eat. Now, she felt sick.

"Ready to begin?" Marvin grabs the handles of the doors and looks to the group. Everyone nods. He smiles and pushes open the door, revealing a 3-dimensinal lay out. The group walks in and looks around. It seemed to be a long hallway with twists and turns. All black, like space itself, but 3-d interactive images popped up depending on the topic of that particular hall.

"It's so, big!" Tecna gasps as she turns in circles gazing up at the dark atmospheric walls.

"Actually, its not as big as it seems. That's all magic and effects, but it is amazing if I say so myself." Marvin motions for the group to take the first turn. The next hall has images of hundreds of different planets, all different colors, sizes, and at different distances.

"The Hall of Planets, record of every existing planet in the magical dimension, now including Earth." Marvin says.

"Here is also recorded the population, planet size, and other general information about the planet itself. Feel free to look for you planet!" he continues.

"That's amazing! Those numbers are completely accurate!" Tecna gasps at Zenith's hologram.

"I didn't know Sparks had that many people!" Bloom points and smiles at Sparks.

"Lynfea has more and more plants everyday! The numbers just keep growing!" Flora smiles and runs through the pictures and diagrams of every single plant on Lynfea.

"That's a pretty large family history you have Bloom" Sky points at her family tree. Generations and generations of lineage go back for centuries all the way up to her and her sister Daphne. Bloom giggles when she sees a pink line connecting herself and King Sky of Eraklyon.

"Where and how did you learn this stuff?" Musa turns to Marvin.

"Mercuris is the Planet of Planets, our sources have sources and there are many books and historians. We also travel around the dimensions to every planet to make sure our information is accurate." Marvin says."

"Well you did a wonderful job!" Timmy gives him a thumbs up. After a few more minutes of looking at their planets history, they make their way to the Hall of Animals.

"Every animal species is recorded in this room. This includes pixies as well." Marvin says.

"So many, look at those!" Helia laughs.

"Roxy would love this!" Musa looks at the holograms of different animals.

"We should bring her some day!" Flora stands beside her.

"Whoa!" Stella gasps.

"Girls! I found our pixies!" Bloom calls everyone over. She points to Amore, Lockett, Digit, Chatta, Tune, and the others.

"They're all here!" Flora claps her hands.

"This is amazing Marvin, it really is." Bloom turns around and smiles at him. He bows his head.

"Thank you ma'am, that's the critique I was hoping to receive!" he says

* * *

**I think that is enough for tonight. My hand hurts. We'll get to more Cora and Layla in the next chapter. Seems like things are not going so well for Layla, could things get any worse?**

**Also, prepare for the much awaited surprise party! It's coming up!**

**Be sure to RxR! I need those reviews in order to continue writing! **

**Thanks**


	6. Chapter 6

**The next chapter is out! Thanks to all for being so patient and I hope you like it! **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"Layla? Where are you?" Cora calls out as she walks down the corridor. She held a package that smelt of seaweed and kelp, which meant her father was going to have a field day when she returned home.

"Excuse me, have you seen Layla?" she stops and asks a guard.

"Yes, she passed through here a little while ago. Try the open ball room at the end of the hall." He points in the direction opposite of the way she had been going.

"Open ball room? Why would she be there?" Cora asks.

"That is where her fiancé is resting. She has been known to go there every once in a while." The guard says.

"We'll thank you, have a nice evening." She says to him and walks off down the hall. Of course Layla went to be by Nabu's side, if her mother was insisting on marriage, than where else would she go?

She continued down the nicely furnished hall until she reached the end of it. To the right of the wall was a double door. She pushed it open.

"Layla?" She asked and poked her head in. Just as she thought, Layla was here and so was Nabu. She was sitting in a chair beside his lone bed toward the front of the room.

"Oh, hey Cora. Did you get what you needed from the chef and my dad?" She sniffles and wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand. Cora enters the room and closes the door behind her.

"Yeah, I was just looking for you." She rests a hand on Layla's shoulder.

"I just wanted to see him before I left." She whispers and stares at her Fiancés limp body.

"It's okay, everyone will understand." Cora replies and holds the package of seaweed as far away from her as possible. The stuff was making her head hurt.

"Are we ready to get going?" Layla glances up at her And asks.

"Only if you are. We can stay a bit longer if you want." Cora says as Layla stands up.

"No, sitting here crying isn't going to do me any good. We should just get to Mercuris before the party starts." She wipes her eyes and smiles. It wasn't the most convincing smile. Her eyes were red and she looked like she was in pain. Unfortunately there was nothing Cora could do to make her feel better. Except offering her seaweed, but she wouldn't want that.

"Alright, if you're ready." Cora steps aside and let's Layla take the lead.

"Yeah, let's go." They make their way to the door.

"Did you leave the door open?" Layla asks as they walk.

"No, I actually closed it." Cora stares at the open door in front of them.

"Hmm, maybe it opened by itself" Layla says.

"Or maybe someone else let themselves in. Ever think of that?" Someone asks from above.

"Honestly how were you able to defeat us without common sense?" Someone else asks.

"it really does baffle me" a third voice is heard. Followed by creepy laughing, Cora and Layla look up and find three of the most hated and evil witches of all time. The Trix.

Meanwhile...

"And that is the tour everyone! I hope you enjoyed it!" Marvin holds the door open as everyone files out of the Hall of Planetary Record.

"We did Marvin, thank you!" Bloom smiles as she walks past him.

"We'll be sure to come again someday!" Flora says.

"It would be an honor Winx, welcome to the Royal Pavilion. Enjoy!" Marvin bows before turning around and returning to the palace. The group gasps in amazement when they see the Royal Pavilion. Against the light of the sunset, the trees, animals, and flowers all came to life in a thousand brilliant glowing lights.

"What kind of magic is this?" Stella asks.

"It must be some sort of chemical reaction in their systems. Probably along with magical properties as well." Tecna assumes as she examines a blue glowing flower.

"They kind of look like the ones we saw in Lynfea in that forest." Sky says.

"It's beautiful!" Flora smiles and takes in the auras of the magical plants around her.

"To top it all off, an amazing view of the kingdom from here. Look!" Brandon points out towards the sunset where the whole kingdom could be seen from one spot.

"Perfect way to top off the evening" Musa smiles at Riven. He grins and takes her hand in his.

"I guess we could walk around for a bit. Relax?" Bloom asks. Everyone agrees and splits up in separate directions. Thus, leaving Brandon and Stella by themselves. Stella shrugs and stomps off the second she made eye contact with him. He just stood there watching her go.

Meanwhile...

"Trix!" Layla yells.

"Hello Miss Layla. Miss us? How's your dead fiancé been doing huh?" Icy asks with a cold devil grin.

"Back off Icy!" Cora yells in Laylas defense.

"And what are you going to do if we don't?" Stormy asks.

"Introduce you to a world if pain is what we're gonna do!" Layla yells and goes into her transformation pose.

"LAYLA MAGIC BEL-AHHHHH!" Before she can transform, she is sent flying across the room by one of Stormy's hurricanes.

"You're next Miss Cora. Or shall we just destroy you now before you even get the chance to transform?" Darcy hisses and holds and globe of mystifying illusions in her hand. Cora looks around the room for help. Nothing no one to help her, empty room, all she has are her own two hands. Or maybe what's in them. She clutches the package in her right hand, raises, and throws it straight up at the witches.

"What the?" Icy yells when the white package reaches her eye level. Before it can fall back to the floor, Cora raises her hand and in one swift motion, closes her fist, causing the package to burst open in mid air. The seaweed flies everywhere.

"Gross!"

"Disgusting!"

"It smells like dead fish!" The Trix fall to the floor covering their heads from falling green weed.

"CORA MAGIC HOPIX!" Cora transforms while they are distracted and races to Layla's side.

"Hurry! Transform while they're still down!" Cora he,ps her friend up.

"Ill distract them." Cora flies back over to the Trix.

"HOPIX ENERGY BLAST!" She shoots a silver ball of light at them. They avoid her attack and fly back into the air.

"Nice move Cora, but it won't be enough to take us down!" Icy sends shards in her direction. Flying quickly, Cora avoids them.

"MORHPIX BLAST!" A pink bubble comes from behind Cora and hits the Trix on foul force, pushing them back to the floor.

"Ia that enough to take you down?" Layla stands beside Cora and eyes the Trix angrily. They stand back up.

"Together?" Layla turns to Cora who nods.

"BELIEVIX ENERGY -!"

"HOPIX ENERGY -!"

They raise their arms in unison and prepare for a joint power attack.

"Hold it!" Icy yells.

"Do that, and your boyfriends gonna go from lifeless to body less in a matter of seconds!" Icy yells holding shards just inches from Nabu's body. Stormy has thunder clouds surrounding him and Darcy has her worst, most harmful spell ready to launch at him.

"No!"


End file.
